Chapter 5
WHAT WET DREAMS ARE MADE OF
PIERCE
Damn, this motherfucker is heavier than he looks. I heft his weight up again, throwing a glare at Chops, who’s got this guy’s feet, and by the looks of it, none of the actual weight.
“Could you fucking help?” I bark at him, and his eyes narrow before I feel the load lighten.
That’s what I thought.
I’ve never had to work with the other guys on jobs like this, but Branson’s not here anymore, and shit has to get done one way or another. Just another daily reminder that he’s gone and I’m still here.
“Where’s he going?”
“Down to Silas’s room, he’s got some questions for this son of bitch.”
Said asshole groans, and his eyes move behind his lids. The alcohol in his system is finally wearing off, and I give myself a pat on the back at my timing. The stairs groan under the weight of all three of us, and my shoulders bounce off the walls as we waddle slowly, step by step, to the bottom.
“Just drop him, I’ve got it from here,” I tell him when we’re outside Si’s special torture room.
I kick my heavy boot into the door a few times, knowing this place is basically soundproof but hoping he’s already waiting on the other side. I luck out when the door opens, not ten seconds later.
“Special delivery,” I deadpan.
“That didn’t take long,” he says, leaning against the cracked door and looking down at the semi-unconscious man at our feet.
“Well, he was passed out drunk on his couch when we got there. The worst part was getting him in and out of the van. Bastard’s heavier than he looks. You need a hand getting him inside?”
“Nah, I got it from here. Thanks, man. Oh, and thanks for taking care of Lex the other night. Though I’m shocked you were able to get her home so easily.”
“She practically ran out of this place,” I joke, but leave out the fact that it was after I woke up to her wrapped around my cock for the first time in years. Something I never thought would happen again. “Anyway, text me when you’re ready to hand over duties. I’ll be out.”
He nods, and I leave him to work.
She doesn’t look any better; if anything, she seems worse. She’s disheveled, with dark circles under her eyes, and even her usually shining blonde hair, befitting of her nickname, looks unruly and lusterless in the early morning sun.
I watch as the hours tick by. She opens the shop and mills about, waiting for customers to stop in. With a small town like ours, it’s a miracle businesses like these survive. Her work just happens to be where upper-class wives like to do their shopping.
It’s nearing her lunch hour when she typically locks up and heads across the street to grab an iced coffee and something they package in a little white paper bag, when a patrol car rolls to a stop a few spots down from me. This is the second time this week.
I’m not exactly disguised, but I’m hidden enough on my bike parked between the two buildings across the street from Lexi’s work. She mentioned the cops had been bothering her the last time I couldn’t stop myself from following officer assface inside. Looks like we’re about to have a repeat.
An officer steps out of his patrol car and watches her through the front windows, just as I’ve been doing for the last few weeks, even before our unexpected night together.
It’s easy to do since the shop is lined with floor-to-ceiling windows, and they don’t have much displayed in the way.
When he shuts his door and steps up to the entrance, I pop off my bike and make my way slowly across the street, never losing sight of her inside.
I don’t want to tip her off to the little habit I’ve picked up, but I’m also not about to leave her to the wolves and let him harass her more than he already has.
This is becoming a problem that I might need to handle.
The question is, do I bring it up to Si or handle it myself and make no one the wiser?
Then again, a missing golden boy and a cop for our little town will definitely cause an uproar of concern.
His big frame steps up to the front counter just as the little bell announces my arrival. Her eyes skate past him to mine and bug out slightly before she fixes her gaze, and it turns stony.
“Hey Princess, you ready for lunch?”
“We’re in the middle of discussing something,” Assface says to me directly, puffing out his chest in his uniform.
Hate to break it to you, buddy, but you’re not intimidating in the least. More like an annoying roach that keeps crawling back to places it shouldn’t be.
The side step gives Lex the time to recoup her typical sass. “No, we weren’t discussing anything, and it is my lunch hour. So, if you’ll excuse us, Officer, we’re just headed out.”
“Miss. Kane, I don’t think I need to remind you about the severity of the situation.”
I lean against the counter, invading his personal space, and stare him down as he refuses to budge at her request. “I think the lady was kindly telling you to fuck off, Garret.”
“That’s Officer Thorne to you. And you better watch it, boy, or I’ll take you in for harassing an officer of the law.”
Boy? This moron realizes we’re the same age still, right? That didn’t change because he’s a nepo baby and was handed a badge right out of high school.
“Great, and how does one go about reporting harassment from said officer of the law, because that’s about where we’re at with your little visits every couple of days, Officer Thorne,” Lexi cuts in, and I can’t stop the shit eating grin from taking over my face.
He lets out a huff and storms out of the shop, knowing damn well he won’t be getting anywhere with her while I’m standing here.
“What the fuck, Pierce? Why are you here, again?” she bites out the moment the door falls back into place.
Well, shit. She did notice.
“Coincidence?”
“Nice try. You can go. It really is my lunch hour, and I have zero intention of spending it with you.”
“Mmh, is that why you disappeared on me after attacking me the other morning?”
“I didn’t attack you,” she says, rolling her eyes at my choice of words.
“What would you call fucking me awake from a dead sleep, then?”
“I’m pretty sure most men call it a wet dream come true. Just say thank you and leave me alone.”
“Thank you,” I say and drop her a smirk.
“You’re not going to leave, are you?”
“I will.”
Her eyebrow rises in question.
“After you lock up.”
She doesn’t continue our back and forth, I’m enjoying it so much.
Getting under her skin—and inside her, my one-track mind adds in—could be a full-time job.
Instead, she lets loose an annoyed huff and leans down, coming back up with her purse and keys.
She moves past me, flips the sign on the door, and exits without another word.
I follow and wait next to her to lock up, watching as she turns and heads for the sidewalk at the end of the street instead of just jaywalking across the dead roadway.
Probably a good call if Officer Garrett is watching. He’d take any opportunity to drag my ass in.
“What are you doing?” She finally breaks and asks when I open the door to the little bistro, ushering her inside.
“Getting lunch.”
“Not with me.”
“Okay, Princess.”
She steps up to the front counter, and an older woman with a chipper smile greets Lexi with an animated welcome.
They talk for a couple of minutes as I hang back and look over the handwritten lunch specials on the board, and it’s the first time I get to hear what she orders: a turkey club with no mayo and a triple-shot iced white mocha. Noted.
Keeping it simple, I grab a water and pick a table across from where she sits and waits for her food to come out.
She deliberately sat with her back to me, but I know she can feel my eyes on her.
They’re always on her. That’s never changed.
Not after she broke up with me in high school or after she started dating that piece of shit, Evan.
Especially, not when I overheard the way he’d talk to her like he was doing her a favor by dating her.
If Harlow hadn’t already dealt with him, I would have after that night.
My phone vibrates in my pocket.
Clean up on aisle eight.
The text from Silas reads, and I chuckle at the idiot.
He’s done sooner than I expected, and I’m irritated that he’s taking me away from watching over her.
She’ll be fine, though. Garret isn’t likely to come sniffing around twice in one day, and she’ll head back to work after this.
It’s Thursday, the day she used to stop by the gym on her way home, but that’s a rarity these days.
She prefers to head straight home now, curl up on the couch, tuck herself into a blanket, and binge a show while she scrolls on her phone.
It’s like she’s given up, and I hate that he did this to her.
I throw a five on the table, even though I didn’t order anything, and head out the door. I catch Lexi’s eyes through the front door as I leave, and another knot around the barely pulsing thing in my chest loosens.